2011《財富》最愚蠢商業事件大盤點（上）

好事達保險公司的星座冷幽默

????好事達保險公司（Allstate Corp.）在進行2010年事故率排名時，試圖通過星座來幽默一把。但保險公司的幽默細胞藏得太深，結果，這個玩笑自然遭遇冷場。

????2月2日，好事達發布了一則新聞稿，稱所有星座中，“焦慮害羞”的處女座最容易發生事故，而最安全的則是天蝎座。文章表示“去年，與堅決冷靜的天蝎座相比，處女座發生車禍的幾率大約是700%?！?/p>

????好事達的語氣一如既往地冷靜而穩重。這可是一家保險公司，而不是洋蔥新聞（The Onion），結果人們對它的說法都信以為真。

????好事達之后的致歉甚至比之前的玩笑更冷峻：“從保險精算的角度考慮，通過占星術進行評級并不完美。我們理解，辛勤工作的客戶對保險開支非常重視。我們也是如此?！?/p>

????或許他們應該挑愚人節的時候嘗試這種玩笑?！獊唫?史密斯

Allstate ties insurance to zodiac...NOT

????Allstate Corp. was just trying to be funny when it ranked 2010 accident rates by Zodiac signs. But insurers are not known for their comic wit, and the joke fell flat on its face.

????Allstate issued a press release on Feb. 2 saying that "worried and shy" Virgos were the most accident-prone of all signs while Scorpios had the safest rate of all. "Over the past year, Virgos were nearly 700% more likely to be in a car accident when compared to the determined and aware Scorpio," said the presser.

????Allstate's deadpan tone was stone cold sober. But this was an insurance company, not The Onion, and people thought it was real.

????Allstate followed with an apology was even more solemn than its joke: "Rating by astrology would not be actuarially sound. We realized that our hard working customers view their insurance expense very seriously. So do we."

????Maybe they should have tried it on April Fool's Day.-- Aaron Smith